1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gear assembly, and particularly to a master gear assembly rotatably attachable to a reel unit of a spinning reel.
2. Background Art
In the spinning reels, a master gear with face gear teeth is disposed concentric to the rotational axis of a handle. The master gear is disposed onto a master gear shaft that a handle shaft is engage therewith. The master gear meshes with a pinion gear that a rotor is fixed thereon. The master gear is configured to rotate the rotor by handle rotation. For example, specification of Japan Patent No. 3854732 describes a master gear of the aforementioned type. The master gear assembly includes a master gear and a master gear shaft as individual separate components.
In the master gear assembly of the well-known type, the master gear shaft includes a flanged portion for a gear attachment purpose. Specifically, the flanged portion is a large diameter portion for fixing the master gear thereon. The flanged portion includes a plurality of (e.g., six) through holes for allowing a plurality of (e.g., six) bolt members for a fixation purpose to penetrate therethrough. The master gear includes a plurality of (e.g., six) threaded holes on the rear surface thereof for allowing the bolt members to be screwed therein.
In assembling the master gear assembly of the well-known type, the master gear is fixed onto the master gear shaft by a plurality of the bolt members. Therefore, an operation of assembling the master gear assembly will be complex and requires a long period of time. Further, the flanged portion has a large outer diameter for attaching a plurality of the bolt members thereto. Therefore, the master gear assembly has a large mass and this makes it difficult to form the master gear assembly at lightweight.